Reaching Nature Connection Conference: Storytelling
East Coast Outdoor Conference for Early Childhood Educators, Teachers, Counselors, Parents and Mentors
June 1-2, 2024
Earthaven Ecovillage
Near Asheville, NC
Join us at Earthaven, as Storytelling presenters Lia Grippo and Erin Boehme will take participants on a storytelling journey to develop capacities for using stories as effective teaching tools for nature connection and beyond. Drawing from their experience using stories to enchant, enrich and educate audiences of all ages, they are thrilled to share this gift with others!
Develop storytelling skills to:
- Guide and enchant
- Teach, rather than preach
- Bring calm and wonder into a child’s day
- Foster attention, memory, imagination, and self discipline
- Creatively resolve problems and shift behavior
- Increase children’s empathy, moral fortitude, and emotional intelligence
This annual conference is a program of The Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers, co-sponsored by SOIL.
Begin your weekend on Friday evening with a storytelling concert with conference favorite, Doug Elliott.
The RNC instructors brought evidenced-based information, personal stories and a wealth of experience. The content felt relevant to both the brand-new forest kindergarten teacher, at the same time met the needs of an experienced facilitator.
About the Conference
Reaching Nature Connection is an annual outdoor conference based on forest schools, wilderness awareness, and early childhood education. The conference is designed for beginners and experienced educators alike, as well as therapists, administrators, homeschool families, camp counselors, grandparents, and parents who have an interest in developmentally appropriate nature mentoring for children.
Reaching Nature Connection invites you to join in an exciting weekend of hands-on, research-based, and anecdotal learning. As always, the conference will be infused with songs, games, stories, and deeper nature connection.
Reaching Nature Connection provides an opportunity to set your watch aside and allow the leaders of the conference to hold time for you. The rhythm of each day is designed to move between active and contemplative learning, with a thematic thread running throughout. We will flow between lecture and hands-on components, weaving together our learning through a variety of approaches, with each new component building on the next.
- Learn more about nature connection and the conference in this interview.
- Learn about and invite others to the storytelling concert with Doug Elliott.
Learn more about nature connection and the conference in this interview with leaders of the Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers.
Program
Friday, May 31 (Optional Add-on)
4:00-6:00 pm Conference Check-in
6:30 pm Dinner
7:30 pm An evening of stories and songs with Doug Elliott
Saturday, June 1
8:00 am Breakfast
8:00–8:45 am Conference check-in. Please arrive by 8:45 am.
9:00am–5:00 pm Conference begins promptly at 9:00 am (break for lunch)
6:30 pm Dinner
7:30 pm An evening of connection and peer-mentorship (optional)
Sunday, June 2
8:00am Breakfast
9:00 am – 4:00 pm Conference begins promptly at 9:00 am (break for lunch)
Sliding Scale Tuition
Because some people have more financial means than others, we have created a sliding scale fee system to accommodate a range of economic realities. The high-end of the scale reflects the value we believe the program holds, and the low-end offers a more accessible entry point.
By choosing a higher price point, you are helping make the program more accessible to others for whom the low-end may be cost-prohibitive. Please consider your needs and resources to determine what might be a stretch, but not a strain.
Engaging, affirming, and inspiring! This conference was just what I needed to get reinvigorated about the importance of play and connecting to nature.
Cost
General
Tuition Sliding Scale: $425 – 525
Tuition includes instruction, food (5 meals), and materials. Accommodations and transportation are available for an additional cost.
Current ECE Students
If you are a current ECE Student, please email us for a coupon code to use at checkout, at [email protected].
Scholarships
We offer partial scholarships (50% of the middle of the sliding scale) to black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) with financial needs who otherwise would not be able to afford to attend. We understand that BIPOC experience more financial and institutional barriers to participation, and this is one way we are able to create more access. If you identify as BIPOC with financial needs and would like to receive a scholarship, please contact us.
The Reaching Nature Connection Conference at Earthaven was a soul-nourishing experience. I have been a nature and play-based early childhood teacher for 20 years and I left this gathering full of inspiration, new questions about my work, a deeper understanding of what can inform it and experiences of thrill, joy, and community. I will be looking for more opportunities to engage in these trainings.
Logistics
About the Facilitation Team
Reaching Nature Connection Conference Faculty Lia spent many of her earliest years in Riga, Latvia, foraging and fishing the nearby woodlands with her family. Lia has taught in a variety of settings, including small and large preschools, a Waldorf kindergarten, a parent cooperative, and wilderness programs.Lia Grippo
Reaching Nature Connection Conference Faculty Erin grew up freely exploring the pastures, creeks, and high deserts of California's Eastern Sierra mountains. Erin is a co-founder of the annual Reaching Nature Connection Conference and a co-founder of The Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers. She is an artist and designer that seeks to fuel the creative spirit in herself and others everyday.Erin Dews
Registration
Complete the registration form once per participant. It takes 5-10 minutes, and you will complete your enrollment with a credit card authorization.
After your enrollment is processed, you will receive several confirmations…
- An automatic confirmation of receiving your registration form
- A payment confirmation from our card processor
- Confirmation that your registration has been processed